Here is an article from Music Trades Magazine, June 1, 2002 that addresses the issue pretty well with facts:
In 1995 HP Wilfer ventured beyond Framus and Warwick's long combined history as 100-percent-German manufacturers, establishing a sister corporation in China. Located in the Shanghai Waigaoqiao (pronounced "why gow chow") Free Trade Zone, Warwick Music Equipment Trading (Shanghai) Ltd., Co. is staffed by an Australian expatriate managing director and a team of bilingual Chinese nationals. Its major product groups include comprehensive lines of bags and molded plastic cases for instruments, as well as guitar, bass, keyboard, and microphone stands. "The Shanghai factory was originally established as a beachhead for accessory products," notes Dana B. Goods president Dana Teague. "The first charter of that operation was to manage the vendors manufacturing the accessory products. Its second charter was to develop the Chinese market for those products. But now it's also acting as a base of operations for Seymour Duncan, GHS, and several other companies to sell their products in China through Warwick's facilities. As the infrastructure of that operation developed, Warwick began to feel confident that it could branch out into other areas. One of those areas was a new line of instruments."
Warwick's confidence was founded on years of accumulated bass building skills, time-earned trust in its team in Shanghai, and a conviction that the fledgling line would be afforded a strong start on Warwick's coattails. RockBass shares Warwick's highly identifiable body styles--including the Streamer Standard, Corvette, and Alien Stage Acoustic--as well its headstock design and angled tuning gears. Further, while its headstock is labeled "RockBass," its truss rod cover is labeled "Warwick." "This is very similar to Gibson's approach with Epiphone guitars," Teague explains. "We are obviously emphasizing the fact that Warwick is behind the RockBass. A consumer who just can't get into the Warwick line because of its cost will recognize the body style and headstock and say, `This is going to be my first `Warwick.'" Despite their outward similarities, the two lines are clearly delineated in country of origin--all Warwick basses continue to be made in Germany--and price--RockBasses start at $499 retail. The lines are also marketed differently and have separate dealer agreements. "Obviously, a significant number of additional dealers who are able to carry RockBass would never be able to carry Warwick due to regional conflicts," says Teague. Dana B. Goods is also advertising the lines differently, focusing on trade publications for RockBass, for which Dana B. Goods' primary target is dealers. Teague is counting on benefiting from existing Warwick advertising and artists "spilling over" into the RockBass.
Although Teague worked closely with Wilfer to develop the RockBass line, he takes "absolutely no credit" for Warwick's original expansion into accessories. "To tell you the truth," he concedes, "I tried to pour cold water over that for a long time. I just didn't get it. Now I get it. Hans Peter had a vision, and he knew what he was doing all the time. As Music Trades publishes at least once a year, accessories is a high-margin business for dealers, and it's more recession-proof." Hans Peter's commitment to RockBass and his burgeoning accessory business is evident in his demanding schedule, which requires him to work out of his Shanghai office two weeks out of every month. He credits his wife, Florence, for making it all possible. "Without her deep involvement in the company, I couldn't take such risks," says Wilfer.
Warwick has also benefited from its association with Dana B. Goods. Over the years the relationship has grown closer and more collaborative, with Dana Teague serving as Hans Peter Wilfer's eyes and ears to the American market. "It's developed into more of a partnership for global representation than anything else," says Teague. "Because America's pop music styles are so dominant all over the world, Warwick pays much more attention to our endorsees and advertising. When we do an ad here or sign up a new artist, it's blasted out to 40 other countries within two weeks. Australia and the U.K. specifically have found that if something that is breaking or hot here, it's just a matter of time before it takes off there."
Success with the accessories line--along with what might be described as Hans Peter Wilfer's "more is more" approach to manufacturing--have forced Dana B. Goods to grow as well. "One of my nicknames for Hans Peter Wilfer is `Spaghetti Boy,'" quips Teague. "I call him that because he's constantly throwing more products--more different types of cases, bags, and stands--than we can humanly handle. He laughs and says, `I throw them at the wall, and we'll see which ones stick!'" Offering a specific example, Teague adds, "We argued about how many products we were going to display at the NAMM show. If he'd had his way, it would have been literally a tom-tom bag for everything from an 8" to a 16" drum. The bag, stand, and case line already has well over a thousand SKUs."
COPYRIGHT 2002 Music Trades Corp. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. For permission to reuse this article, contact Copyright Clearance Center
